This week has been a blur. Summer’s like that. Always busier than the school year. My kids are running to lessons in three different directions and guess who drives them? Right. Lucky for me, I have a few much anticipated Mommy reprieves scheduled this summer and the second on my list comes this weekend when I travel to Chicago for my very first American Library Association Conference.

I was thrilled to get an email from my local Sisters in Crime group earlier this year looking for volunteers to man (errr…woman) the SinC Booth at ALA. I live in an area of Ohio where all the local chapters of national groups meet at places at least an hour away. I join the groups but never attend meetings because an hour drive to and then another hour from seems silly and time consuming in my busy mommy life when the meeting only lasts one hour. I rely on the email groups for my networking and correspondence, but I’m there in spirit at those meetings ladies! And when something like this comes up, you can count on me. I LOVE conferences. Love. Love. Love.

I jumped on the opportunity to support Sisters in Crime and booked my room the same day. I have my talking points in one hand and my exhibitor list in the other. I can’t wait to meet Sisters from groups across the nation and possibly a few authors I can fangirl all over. My Merit Press sister Allison Ashley Formento, author of Twigs, will be there with her children’s’ book publisher. I’ve got her on my list of people to find. If you’ll be there, tell me where. I will find you! I can’t wait. I live for these Mommy-breaks, where I can refuel & recharge with my people.

“ALA welcomes our colleagues, vendors, and other attendees to Chicago for the Association’s 137th Annual Conference June 27 to July 2. From the first year Chicago played host—in 1893, during the World’s Columbian Exposition—to now, 120 years later, we remain as committed as ever to the profession.

The conference theme, “Transforming Our Libraries, Ourselves,” plays out in programs from the Networking Uncommons and Maker Monday to presenters including Dan Cohen of the Digital Public Library of America and Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute. The incredible lineup of speakers throughout the conference includes Steven Levitt, Jaron Lanier, Khaled Hosseini, Ping Fu, Congressman John Lewis, Temple Grandin, Giada De Laurentiis, Ann Patchett, Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, Alice Walker, and Octavia Spencer.

We’ll also be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott Medal with high-profile experts and children’s book illustrators including Paul O. Zelinsky, Brian Selznick, Jerry Pinkney, Erin Stead, Chris Raschka, and Eric Rohmann.

Here’s just a sample of the programs, special events, author appearances, award presentations, and other activities happening in Chicago. For a complete listing, visit alaannual.org.”

What you don’t know can kill you…

Ever since she could remember, Elle has had to hop from town to town to keep up with her dad’s demanding career as a corporate insurance agent. Each time, a recurring nightmare followed her wherever she went–until the day that the frightening figures haunting her at night became all too real. When news of a serial killer spreads throughout her new school, Elle worries that the Reaper has been leaving her his calling card in the form of cigarette butts on her doormat and an unusual ribbon in her locker. With the help of Brian, a boy she meets at a flea market, she discovers that this isn’t her first encounter with the murderer and that her father has been concealing her true identity for the past twelve years. But despite her father’s desperate attempts to protect her, Elle still comes face to face with the darkness she has been running from her whole life. Trapped in the woods and with help hundreds of miles away, will Elle be able to confront the Reaper and reclaim the life she lost?

Please attempt to imagine my face right now. Things are happening. THIS is happening. DECEIVED is really coming. The firsts just keep on coming.

I got my first quote from an author who is amazing and for some reason I can’t imagine, agreed to read my book. AND THEN she liked it. What? She did! Look:

“Ms. Lindsey crafts an exquisite tale that kicked my adrenaline up with every turn of the page. Deceived is stunning and more than a little scary. From the first page, I had to know what happens next, while at the same time, I had to know what happened before. As Elle’s life unravels, the reader will feel just as raw and betrayed as she does.” ~Gwen Hayes, author of Falling Under

AND ALSO: NetGalley.

Net-freaking-Galley.

Deceived is available on NetGalley. You know how psyched I get when NetGalley emails me to say I was approved for a request. I feel so important when I get those emails, and I rip into the file immediately, instantly devouring the new book. I love getting chosen to read a book early. It’s one of my many thrilling life experiences. So, *imagine* my face when I found MY BOOK on NetGalley? I’m so happy right now. And terrified. It’s crazy. If you use NetGalley and read YA and want to find my book over there (MY BOOK IS ON NETGALLEY) this is the link: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/show/id/32563

*Puffs into paper bag* I need to go run off some of this fear/panic/excitement now before I swoon and roll off my couch again. Does everyone else feel this conflicted with overload emotion before a release? I still have 3 months to go.

Are you all sane by the time the book is actually loose in the world? Well….wait. If it’s on NetGalley, it kind of IS in the world.

This weekend was a blur. It was. From the moment I woke up on Thursday morning until sometime last night, I ghosted through my life. Well, no. Ghosted implies a degree of calm. I was more like Speed Racer sans car, or that little mouse who yells Andele! Andele! Arriba! Arriba! Only I did it in English because my Spanish sucks, thank you four years of college electives. I also did it in heels and with a schedule in hand screaming at the other places I needed to appear simultaneously. There were copious amounts of coffee involved. Which the Today Show says is a mental illness. I say, I don’t care, just keep it coming.

I didn’t get as many pictures as I planned. The hotel sucked the life from my phone with relentless tenacity. By Friday night I was carrying my charger around and plugging in anywhere I was staying more than a few minutes. BUT I did get some fun shots of me with old friends, new friends and my booty. No. My raffle basket winning – booty. Not my booty-booty, though anything seemed possible this weekend.

I helped Carina Press with romance pictionary. See what she’s drawing there? That’s my girl! Sell it sister! I met people I tweet with. I met readers who tossed my books aside, complaining “I want the dirty stuff.” I met a couple teens who made me say “book” then took my bracelets. Reader teens are crafty and competitive. Especially this one. Natasha and her mom made me smile a ton this weekend. I signed a few books, which always makes me feel odd. I saw glow in the dark juggling. I was pinned by Jules Bennet. I fawned over the drop dead gorgeous CL Parker and laughed with Darynda Jones until my sides hurt.

I spent a lot of time with my Turquoise Morning Press sisters and mah boss. On Saturday night there were awards. I mean, like working with that group of women isn’t reward enough, they gave out awards! There was Reader’s Choice, Most Prolific Author, etc. I won the Happiest Author in the Universe Award. Of course. Only you guys know what a crab I can be. I keep that face on the low-low and since only three of you read my blog, it’s our secret *slow stage wink* The pictures are numerous and silly so I will just plug them all in here like a scrapbook. Enjoy!

It’s that time again! By far my most fun weekend on the conference trail for me. I think this is true because so many of my friends come to see me. I live in Ohio, so they clearly attend to see me. I get to squeeze all the people I tweet with all year long and read pages for and who slap my manuscripts into shape. I can SEE them. Like In real life!

This is my third year attending the Reader & Author Event. The first year was through the suggestion of romance author, Keri Ford, and the relentless suggesting of my beloved Nikki Brandyberry, romance review blogger. I wasn’t sure I belonged there since I don’t read much romance. Turns out, I was wrong. This conference is for all bookish people. It’s so energizing to be in a place where I’m surrounded with my people. Readers. Authors. BOOKS.

The Reader & Author Get Together occurs in Cincinnati, Ohio every June and lasts for three jam packed days. Different authors and publishers help sponsor the event to keep costs down and fun up. There are two book signings during the weekend, both are open to the public – if you’re ini the area, come! 7-9pm Friday and 2-4 Saturday. If you’re lucky enough to land a ticket to the conference (they sell out in a matter of hours) the fee is a teny tiny $50. For the weekend. AND includes meals. I mean….come ON. My husband goes every year just for kicks, plus his other option is watching three kids alone, but you can’t even eat for a weekend at that price, so why not? The entire hotel bustles all weekend long. There are raffle baskets out the wazoo. There are author events, pitch sessions for writers, costume parties, Romance pictionary with Carina Press, sometimes photo booths. Sometimes male cover models. It’s nuts. So much fun. I can’t wait to see my friends in person and hug them so tight. Until it gets awkward.

I live tweet the weekend and Instagram it and FB it and generally swamp my social media with the fun. It’s a great time. This year is bonus cool because I will participate in the Friday night book signing. AND Turquoise Morning Press is a sponsor and has a ton of fun reader events going on. I get to control the TMP board room for the first 15 minutes after I arrive. I am drunk with power. There will be S’Mores. That’s all I can say. S’Mores. Come see me Friday from 3:45-4pm

At 4pm Friday I am thrilled to participate in a panel, adorably called, The Dirty Flirt. I don’t know what that means, but some of my TMP sisters sent me their pages to read. I’m looking forward to working with writers who want to brainstorm on Saturday morning and talking about Honey Creek books and I’m ready to absorb all the mischief and mayhem. I can’t wait. This is my happy time. I’ll post a recap with pics on Monday

Starting now, let’s call Point of View, POV so I can type this faster POV is the character voice from which you are telling the story. Sometimes it’s more than one POV with switches in POV between scenes or chapters – Never Ever Ever in the middle of a scene. Head jumping is a whole other problem that will get your manuscript tossed back at you in a millisecond. That’s a topic for later. Today I’ve got something else on my mind.

I often read pages for friends and one comment I make in their side bar regularly is “POV. We know. Cut.” In other words, you’re in the character’s head ie it’s from their POV, so we know this, please cut the phrase.”

If you’re telling the story from Julie’s POV and her kids start fighting in the other room, you don’t need to say “She heard the kids fighting.” Or if you’re using first person POV. Skip saying, “I heard a toy break.” Just say WHAT the sound is, the reader assumes your character heard it or it wouldn’t be on the page for them to read. Ex: “Her daughter squealed in the next room.” or “Crunching plastic preceded a scream.” Both tell the reader what she heard without saying “And then I heard.” Same thing goes with:

I/she/he:

saw

smelled

touched

tasted

We’ve all read or heard by now that we are to show and not tell. This is also an example of that error. Use POV to bring readers into the story. Don’t pull them out by inserting phrases that make it seem more like they’re seated at a table being read to, the way we read stories to our children. “And then the little bear tasted his porridge…” style of writing isn’t awesome. Use POV to say “he lifted the spoon to his lips” or “he pushed the porridge between sharp teeth and …” you see. We KNOW. POV.

So, if you’re looking for a way to show more and tell less, or if you’ve been accused of this in a rejection without any real explanation, try rereading your manuscript. This time cut every instance where you instruct the reader as to what is perceived and swap it out for a sentence that states what has occurred instead. This one move can clean a manuscript up in a big way. Show don’t tell can be looked at in a number of ways. Too often we overlook this one, I think.

PS. I bring you this advice based on my own experience. I made this mistake far too long because I didn’t know I was making it. Once someone explained it, I formed a new writing habit that avoided this error and now, being a recovered from this problem, I see it in others’ writing. I want to make sure everyone knows how to identify and fix this POV issue. You can’t change it, if you can’t recognize it, right?